More Unnecessary Shenanigans in Nashville
Fri, Aug 8, 2013
by Drew McManus
The 8/1/2013 edition of the Nashville Scene published an article by John Pitcher that reveals additional nonsense in the Nashville Symphony Orchestra (NSO) collective bargaining agreement (CBA) negotiations. Pitcher reports that there may be serious lack of communication between key members of the NSO leadership team and musicians appear to be responding in kind by
When It Comes To Email, Think Big By Going Small
Thu, Aug 8, 2013
by Drew McManus
There’s a worthwhile article by Luke Wroblewski from 7/1/2013 at his tech blog (h/t Thomas Cott) which examines the impact of mobile device usage on email by becoming the primary point of contact for most recipients. Wroblewski’s post is short and sweet, mostly sourced statistics; but what it should do is get you thinking about
Compensation Report Update
Wed, Jul 7, 2013
by Drew McManus
Let me begin with an apology; yes, I mentioned that the 2013 Orchestra Compensation reports would be up this week and as it is, they are all done and ready to go. However, due to a number of conditions, it now makes more sense to publish them during the week I’ll be away for the
Playing Fast And Loose In Nashville
Tue, Jul 7, 2013
by Drew McManus
In a sign that the collective bargaining agreement (CBA) negotiations currently underway between the NSO and its musicians may be getting hot, both the employer and the musicians have started playing fast and loose with the mutually agreed upon media blackout. Ideally, a media blackout means no public discussions through spokespersons or official outlets (press
Is Minnesota The New AFM Line In The Sand?
Mon, Jul 7, 2013
by Drew McManus
Last week’s article examining a recent outpouring of support for the American Federation of Musicians (AFM) Minneapolis-St. Paul Local 30-73 in the form of a $71,000 donation from a diverse collection of other AFM Locals and individuals, produced some intriguing comments. One from Milwaukee Symphony Principal Violist and President of AFM Local 8, Robert Levine,
Is $71,000 Enough To Matter In Minnesota?
Fri, Jul 7, 2013
by Drew McManus
For those unaware, the American Federation of Musicians (AFM) just wrapped up their 99th convention in Las Vegas, NV and in what has become a reliable standard, Milwaukee Symphony Principal Violist and President of AFM Local 8, Robert Levine, has been in attendance and blogging away with his observations. Most of it is a routine
Get Your Metrics On
Thu, Jul 7, 2013
by Drew McManus
Earlier this week, Joe Patti published an interesting article at Butts In the Seats about getting more out of your website metrics by following the blog Google for Nonprofits and it made me recall a superb nuts and bolts style post a month ago by Ned Dwyer on how to get serious about using Google
To Withhold Or Not To Withhold
Wed, Jul 7, 2013
by Drew McManus
There’s a fascinating discussion underway in the comment thread from the 7/19/13 article about the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra. Specifically, there’s a good bit of back and forth on the issue of whether or not patrons who are still angry and hurt over a lockout that ultimately gutted the musician roster and produced little to
Authenticity Matters
Tue, Jul 7, 2013
by Drew McManus
There is a terrific article by Dmitry Fadeyevin the 7/16/2013 edition of SmashingMagazine.com that focuses on what the author describes as a shift away from “skeuomorphic and stylistic excesses,” or attempts to make an object copy the design of a similar artifact in another material. For example, using realistic page turn effects for digital pages.
Hot Town Summer In The City
Mon, Jul 7, 2013
by Drew McManus
There’s a fascinating article by Philadelphia Inquirer music critic David Patrick Stearns in the paper’s 7/20/2013 edition about a recent Philadelphia Orchestra performance featuring violin soloist Nicola Benedetti. Stearns reports the heat was so high that the orchestra cancelled a sound-check rehearsal and Benedetti clearly suffered during that evening’s performance. Stearns’ article is timely during
